Frequently, chemical or biological materials are contained in containers, such as a casing of an energetic or non-energetic munition, or containers containing Chemical Agent Instruction Sets (CAISs) which were used by the military as training aids to help prepare military personnel for chemical weapon attacks. In order to neutralize or destroy the chemical or biological materials, the containers are often opened in a protective enclosure using shape charges, for example. This may cause the burster used in energetic munitions to either burn or detonate. The contents are then neutralized using reagent neutralizers. However, many existing systems require a priori information or knowledge of the chemical or biological agent housed in the container so that a proper neutralizer can be used. Moreover, even after using the neutralizer the neutralized chemical or biological agents may still require post processing, such as incineration, to meet environmental regulations and laws.
Supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) is a process capable of destroying nearly all chemical and biological materials through oxidation. Supercritical water oxidation avoids the need for incineration and does not require a priori knowledge of the chemical or biological agent being destroyed. Supercritical water oxidation uses supercritical water, i.e., water at a temperature greater than 705.2 degrees Fahrenheit and a pressure greater than 3,200 psia. Supercritical water has a liquid-like density and a gas-like viscosity. Organic materials and gases become highly soluble in supercritical water, whereas inorganic materials are essentially insoluble. When oxygen is introduced, the organic materials are oxidized almost instantly, leaving only materials such as water and inorganic ions.
Many supercritical water oxidation systems use a continuous-feed or a steady-flow reactor. This involves adding water, an oxidizer, and the material to be destroyed or oxidized (the reactants) at inlets of the reactor, heating the reactants as they flow through the reactor, managing the heat of combustion, and collecting the products of the reaction at an outlet of the reactor. One problem with this is that when inorganic solids are present or are produced during the reaction, these solids frequently plug the reactor. Moreover, continuous-feed reactors typically do not provide an easy way to reprocess products that are not fully oxidized. Continuous-feed reactors are usually large, expensive, and complex, and tend to be fixed facilities due to their size. Further, continuous-feed reactors are not easily adapted for opening containers using shape charges or the detonation of energetic munitions.
Supercritical water oxidation processes can also be performed in batch reactors. Batch reactors typically involve using a pressure vessel in which the reactants are heated at a fixed pressure-vessel volume. That is, there are no flows into or out of the pressure vessel during heating. One batch reactor includes a heating element that projects into a central region of an interior of a pressure vessel for heating the reactants. The reactants in the central region are heated to supercritical conditions, while walls of the vessel are cooled, forming a subcritical region adjacent the walls. This establishes an internal circulation between the supercritical central region and the subcritical near-wall region that reduces corrosion of the walls and promotes rapid oxidation in the supercritical central region by constantly moving reactants into this zone while removing reaction products. However, batch reactors of this type are not easily adapted for opening containers using shape charges or the detonation of energetic munitions.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for alternatives for oxidizing chemical or biological materials that are contained within containers.